AI is just another tool to nerd out and tinker with. The question was "Is anyone else losing their motivation to nerd out and tinker".

If you're using AI (to wit: another tool) to nerd out and tinker, then you're obviously not losing that motivation.

So my genuine answer to the original question is: No, I nerd out and tinker more than ever.

Right now, I am using AI as a tool to do stuff I otherwise wouldn't do, like reverse engineer a Whoop band for use with Apple Health sans a Whoop subscription.